Conventional wisdom is a powerful human force. How many times have each of us done something in a specific way, without really giving too much thought to it simply because everyone else was doing it? Take for example the widely held conventional "wisdom" of the 20th century that states the "woman's place is in the home." Of course, the open-minded and liberated thinkers both of earlier times and to this very day, know that women do not have a specific place to be....except for where they choose to be. Women have proven their worth outside of the home over and over again. Certainly there are still those, however, who firmly believe that no woman should attempt to establish a life for herself outside of dirty dishes and poopy diapers.
Before going on I would like to preface by saying that I mean no offense to those that choose circumcision due to long-held cultural traditions or systems of belief such religion. The stated below is simply factual information I have found pertinent to discuss.
Chances are, if you survey the men around you, most of them will have circumcised penises with scars and lessened sensitivity to boot. Of course, unless the circumcised men decided to have their foreskins removed as adults, as opposed to as an hour-old infant, then they might not know what they are missing. With the long term consequences aside, I want to illuminate just a few of the known immediate effects on newborn boys that have just had their perfect little foreskins cut away.
1) Baby boys have been known to go into shock during or following a circumcision procedure. These boys do not cry and show no signs of pain, not because it doesn't hurt (no doctor will deny this), but because they cannot cry due to their stunned nervous system.
2) During and after the procedure, many circumcised newborns show signs of major distress including defecation during surgery and hysterical screaming that is inconsolable for many hours after. This can lead to ill-developed bonding with mother (Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 1984; 5:246).
3) The healing process typically take up to 10 weeks or more if infection finds it way (a notion all to common since diapers are the keeper of the by-product poop (nocirc.org).
4) Medical researcher and author Barton Schmitt found that 1 out of every 500 newborn boys that have the circumcision procedure done experience major complications such as severe hemorrhaging, infections, scaring. Further, serious long term damage to the penis that may not be apparent until adulthood, such as erectile dysfunction, skin tags and unnatural curvature.
Okay, so if what I have detailed above is still not convincing enough, then I offer a few more pleas:
First, simply ask why? Is it because myths stating that the circumcised penis is easy to clean and that it keeps a man less prone to STD's? Funny because this would be like saying our eyes are cleaner without eyelids! According to Fleiss (1997), "the mucous membranes that line all body orifices are the body's first line of immunological defense. Glands in the foreskin produce antibacterial and antiviral proteins such as lysozyme."
Secondly, it was myth that established mass circumcision as a routine surgery in the first place. Fearful of masturbation, the Victorians and fundamental Christians of the 1800's (both of which just so happened to have a strong hold on medical practices in the US at the time) insisted that their infant boy's have their foreskins cut in order to be freed from the "insanity" brought on by masturbation (cirp.org)
Is it fear of embarrassment he may someday suffer while changing in the locker room? Rest assured that according to the WHO (2006), 82% of boys worldwide are not circumcised and in the United States less than 50% are currently forced to undergo the surgery. Moreover, insurance companies have begun to refuse to pay for circumcisions stating that it is not medically necessary.
Lastly, before it is decided to invite traumatizing pain into the first moments of a new babes life, please watch a video that documents newborn circumcision. youtube should have plenty to choose from. I shudder to think that anyone could watch and not feel absolute despair for the life long consequences the new babe is forced to endure.
I could go on, but I want for readers to see for themselves. Google Circumcision or check out the National Organization of Circumcision Resource Center at nocirc.org. See what they have to say.
